


looking to the stars

by lesmiserablol



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dorks in Love, Fluff, Horoscopes, M/M, Mutual Pining, Non-Binary Jean Prouvaire, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24022288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: Combeferre sighs. “I’m writing the horoscopes for Jehan’s newsletter.”Cosette’s eyes widen. “The ones that Courfeyrac has been obsessing over?”“Obsessing over? I don’t know about that…”“Oh, I do. He calls me every Friday night to read me my horoscope, and then he reads me his. He is crazy about them, Ferre. He says it’s almost weird how much they apply to them.”“Yeah, I may have been writing them specifically for him,” Combeferre explains, wincing as soon as he says it.
Relationships: Combeferre/Courfeyrac (Les Misérables), Cosette Fauchelevent/Marius Pontmercy, Enjolras/Grantaire (Les Misérables), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 43
Kudos: 149
Collections: Les Mis Big Bang: Quarantine Edition





	looking to the stars

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this comes from [this tumblr post](https://lesmiserablol.tumblr.com/post/611273976214323200/gay-irl-lesirl) about a woman writing horoscopes for the newspaper and secretly creating positive horoscopes for her friend to cheer her up. And then they got married. 
> 
> A huge thanks to [burntblackfeathers ](https://burntblackfeathers.tumblr.com/) on tumblr and Ao3 for being a fantastic beta reader for me! And lots of love to everyone who helped make the Les Mis Big Bang: Quarantine Edition possible.
> 
> The title is taken from "No Matter What Sign You Are" by The Supremes, and the horoscopes throughout the fic were either written by me or are from horoscopes.com and I just changed them a little bit.

**WEEK 1**

Combeferre blinks back at Jehan as they give him their best puppy eyes, trying to think of how to answer. “Okay...I’m going to need you to remind me what a horoscope is first.”

Jehan’s smile flickers just slightly. “Consider it an...astrological forecast. A kind of ‘this is what your life looks like today or this week or this month based on your star sign’ thing.”

“I don’t...I don’t even remember what my own star sign is. I don’t think I’ve read a single horoscope in my entire life. And you want me to write some for your newsletter?”

Jehan sighs. “There are a ton on the internet, honestly, you could just look them up and copy and paste them. Maybe change a few words or something so we don’t get in trouble. Please, Ferre, you offered your help and these horoscopes are all I need. One of our comic artists dropped out last minute and we don’t have time to find a replacement or come up with anything else.” 

They have a point, Combeferre did offer multiple times to help Jehan with anything they needed as they took over publishing the university’s weekly newsletter for the semester as a class project. He was expecting more of the reviewing-and-editing side of things, maybe even giving a second opinion or something. He was not expecting to actually contribute to the newsletter itself. 

“Alright,” he decides. “I’ll give it a shot. No promises that it’ll actually be any good.”

“It doesn’t have to be good. I may not do it ever again. I just want to try it out,” Jehan sighs, leaning back in their seat. “My partner for this project is refusing to write horoscopes. Montparnasse. Interesting guy. Kinda cute. I’m rambling now. I have hardly slept the past two nights, I’ve been so stressed about getting everything ready for the first issue.”

Combeferre rolls his eyes with a smile. “Jehan, go home, get some sleep. The newsletter will be great. And it’ll have some horoscopes included with it.”

“No sleep until it gets finished. But thank you, Ferre. I’ll buy you tea sometime,” Jehan promises, smiling in relief. 

Combeferre shakes his head. “No worries. When do you need it?”

“By midnight tonight, if you can,” Jehan winces. “Sorry.” 

Combeferre looks at the clock. It’s 7:14pm. He has nothing else left to do, he already finished his homework right before Jehan found him in his usual corner of the library. He was thinking of going home and rewatching some episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, but that can wait. 

“Alright,” Combeferre confirms, seconds before Jehan has him in a suffocating hug. 

* * *

Jehan was right, it turns out to be fairly easy. He looks up some horoscopes, changes them up a bit, moves them to different star signs with a smirk, and has them all drafted in an email in less than 40 minutes. 

He figures he’ll look over it one more time before he sends it, but first, he’s starving. He gathers his things and makes his way through the pleasantly quiet library, nearly jumping when he hears someone shout his name. 

He turns to see Courfeyrac sitting at one of the tables near him. He’s waving enthusiastically at Combeferre and ignoring the annoyed looks of the disturbed students around him. 

Combeferre smiles fondly and walks over to him.

“Hey! How are you? I was just about to leave, want to wait for me?” Courfeyrac whispers. “I just need to make sure everything is saved and send a quick email.” 

Combeferre takes an empty seat at the table with a smile. “Of course. What were you working on? TA stuff?” 

“Nah, I finished all that a little early so I looked over one of Bossuet’s papers for him,” he responds, fingers flying over the keyboard as he talks. “That man is incredible and I love him, but he overuses commas.”

Combeferre feels like a teenager finding out his hot crush is single handedly saving the world. Only in his case, his hot crush is using his writing skills to not only help out struggling freshmen in the English class he is a teacher’s assistant for, but also to help their friends with their school work. This isn’t news to him, but anything and everything about Courfeyrac always makes him feel hopelessly smitten. 

And yet, with all the years of friendship they have, Combeferre only just realized his feelings for his friend last semester. On a night like this and in this very same library, he had been studying and Courfeyrac had found him in his usual spot. When Combeferre looked up from his text book, Courfeyrac had been wearing a huge grin, his hands hidden behind his back. 

“Hey, Courf,” Combeferre had said, making a move to mark his place on the page and give Courfeyrac his undivided attention. 

“Hey, don’t worry, I’m not going to take more of your study time, I just wanted to bring you something real quick,” he had whispered, bouncing slightly. Combeferre raised an eyebrow as Courfeyrac pulled out his hands and revealed the packaged muffin. “I remembered the other day you mentioned how much you love these and how half the time they’re sold out of the vending machines on campus. I saw the last one in the English building and I wanted to surprise you. So, surprise! Good luck studying, love you.”

And just like that, Courfeyrac had disappeared, leaving Combeferre to stare in silence at the double chocolate chip muffin sitting on the desk. He had wanted to open his mouth and reply with the usual, “love you too”, but the words had caught in his throat. Courfeyrac - wonderful, hilarious, amazing, thoughtful Courfeyrac - had gone out of his way to surprise Combeferre. And Combeferre was so happy he could kiss him. 

Kissing Courfeyrac is something he has thought about often since that day.

Combeferre is abruptly pulled out of his thoughts when Courfeyrac closes his laptop and stands up. “Shall we?”

Combeferre nods and stands with him, walking side by side toward the exit. 

They step into the dark, chilly air, and Courfeyrac immediately starts shivering. Combeferre doesn’t hesitate to take his scarf off and wrap it around Courfeyrac’s neck. Courfeyrac smiles at him gratefully and then snuggles into his side. Combeferre puts his arm around his friend, enjoying the heat of the two of them close together. Courfeyrac is going on and on about his new classes of the semester, explaining in detail his love for one of his law classes and some of the ridiculous questions he’s already been asked as a TA. Combeferre is content with listening, adding the occasional comment and laughing at Courfeyrac’s stories. 

Courfeyrac’s apartment building is a block closer than Combeferre’s, so they walk there first, stopping inside the lobby. 

“Thanks for the company, Ferre,” Courfeyrac says. It had started snowing moments before they reached shelter, and he shakes some flakes out of his perfect hair. 

“Anytime,” Combeferre smiles warmly. 

Courfeyrac moves to take the scarf off, and Combeferre grabs him by the wrists. Both of them freeze. 

“You can keep it. It, uh, it looks great on you,” Combeferre insists. 

He half expects Courfeyrac to make some joke or flirtatious comment, but instead he just looks away before smiling shyly up at his best friend. “Thanks. Hey, so...what are you doing tomorrow night? I was thinking, we could, I don’t know...You can get away with studying on Friday nights most of the time, but not the first Friday of the semester.”

Combeferre laughs, moving his hands away from Courfeyrac’s wrists and putting them in his pockets, missing the contact already. “I don’t have any plans. Maybe the three of us can watch a movie.” 

Courfeyrac looks confused for a second before the expression fades, quick enough for Combeferre to wonder if he imagined it. “Right! The three of us. Yeah, ask Enjolras if he’s available, just let me know.”

Combeferre pushes aside the worry that he just lost the opportunity to have some one-on-one time with Courfeyrac. “Right. Do you still want to walk to our statistics class tomorrow morning?”

“Yes! That would be great. I’ll be ready, just text me when you leave your apartment and I’ll meet you outside,” Courfeyrac beams. 

Combeferre nods. “Perfect. Goodnight, Courf.”

Courfeyrac bites his lips as he looks up at Combeferre. “Goodnight,” he says softly, watching his friend turn around and walk back into the darkness. 

It’s snowing harder, but Combeferre feels warm as he makes his way up to his apartment. When he walks in, Enjolras is lying on the couch, wrapped up in the transgender pride flag blanket that Jehan knitted for him and watching Parks and Recreation on the television with a bowl of popcorn on the floor. 

“I see it didn’t take long for last semester’s habits to make a comeback,” Combeferre notes from the kitchen, searching the fridge for something to eat. 

Enjolras throws some popcorn in his general direction. “You gave Courf your scarf?” he asks, giving him a quick glance. 

“How did you know I was with Courf?” he asks, amused. The fridge is looking disappointing, so he settles with making himself a bowl of cereal. 

“No one else makes you smile like that,” Enjolras laughs. 

Combeferre doesn’t know how to respond to that. “He was cold.”

“Oh, come on, I’ve seen this romcom before,” Enjolras says through a mouthful of popcorn. “‘No, keep it, it suits you.’ Or, wait, no, that was in Star Wars. Same difference. The point is, you two are ridiculous.”

Combeferre takes a seat in the living room armchair and pulls out his laptop. “Have you given Grantaire his green hoodie back yet?” he asks smoothly. 

Enjolras sits up, nearly choking on a few pieces of popcorn. He coughs a few times and composes himself before replying. “He should’ve known better than to give it to me, I don’t think I want to return it now. Whatever. It’s just a hoodie,” Enjolras tries, and fails, to defend himself. 

“And Leslie Knope is _just_ a deputy parks department director,” Combeferre smirks. “How is our favorite cynic doing?”

“We haven’t really seen each other since classes started again,” Enjolras admits, blushing. “We might be getting lunch together tomorrow. To catch up. Maybe.”

“Right, catch up,” Combeferre raises his eyebrows. “By the way, Courf asked if you wanted to do a movie night or something tomorrow.”

“Did he specifically invite me or are you once again dragging me along so you don’t have to feel so flustered from being alone with him?”

Combeferre sighs. This isn't the first time this has happened. “Touché. I...might’ve invited you.”

“Courf wants to hang out with you alone, dumbass,” Enjolras replies with a scowl. “I promise it doesn’t hurt my feelings. In fact, it’s worse when just the three of us are together and you two act like morons the whole time. Tell him I’m busy, I’ll find somewhere to be and you two can have the apartment to yourselves. Just don’t do anything in the kitchen.”

Combeferre doesn’t respond to that. He doesn’t want to get his hopes up. Instead, he takes a bite of his Honey Nut Cheerios and redirects his attention to his laptop. It would be easier to push his thoughts of Courfeyrac aside if he wasn’t in the center of the picture of Les Amis that he set as his screensaver. 

It was from the final meeting of last semester. It included everyone, his friends that had founded the club as well as all the members that had joined within the past two years. Everyone posed with something to represent the work they had all done in the fall semester, and Combeferre had the picture zoomed in to focus on his closest friends. Enjolras and Jehan were holding up a flag to remind them of the transgender pride week they had organized on campus. Joly and Bossuet were enthusiastically showing off some of the posters and flyers that Grantaire had personally designed, a sheepish Grantaire squished between them. Combeferre was holding a stack of books, representing the collection of books they organized to donate to kids, and Courfeyrac had his arm around his shoulders, holding up an advertisement for a one act play that he wrote and directed about identity and self love. Courfeyrac’s face is positively beaming, and Combeferre stares at it for a few seconds before he types in his password and finds the email to Jehan still waiting to be sent.

“Do you still have homework? How long were you at the library?” Enjolras raises an eyebrow, settling back down on the couch. 

“No, I finished it all, I’m just doing a favor for Jehan,” Combeferre says. “Making up some horoscopes for their newsletter.”

Enjolras laughs. “Horoscopes? Interesting favor.”

Combeferre skims over the ones he compiled in the email. “Interesting indeed. Why anyone actually pays attention to these, I couldn’t tell you.” 

Enjolras redirects his focus to the show, another handful of popcorn in his mouth. “Good luck. Better you than me, I guess.” 

Combeferre shrugs, finishing his review of the horoscopes and emailing them to Jehan. He gets a text just minutes later:

_(8:44pm) From Jehan: THANK YOU!!!!!_

* * *

“Hey, did you still want to do a movie night tonight?” Combeferre asks the next morning as they are nearing the math building. Combeferre was relieved last semester when they had to sign up for classes and he found out that Courfeyrac had also been putting off the required statistics course. They are in the last semester of their third year, so they figured they should get it over with before senior year. They always had very different classes from each other, so it’s nice to have this one together for once. 

“Yes! I’ve already invited Joly and Bossuet and Musichetta, Jehan said they’re busy, Bahorel and Feuilly will be late but they’ll be there, Eponine hasn’t decided, and Cosette can’t but Marius is available. We were thinking of using our apartment.”

Combeferre is quiet. He glances at Courfeyrac and Courfeyrac stares back expectantly. 

“That sounds great,” he says as soon as he realizes he still needs to answer. It was true, their group hadn’t been together since before the break, it would be good to get most of them together again. 

Courfeyrac looks like he is going to say something, but he closes his mouth and then opens it again to change the subject. “Marius is in this class too, did I tell you that? He’s meeting us there, he’s getting breakfast with Cosette first. Did you do the reading? I was bored at the beginning but-“

* * *

By the time class is over, it’s snowing again. They agreed to meet up with Enjolras after class, and their friend is taking refuge from the cold inside the student center. He’s sitting at a table near a window and glaring at the snowflakes as if they were a personal attack on him.

“Hey,” he greets, softening his glare when he looks up at his friends. “How was class?”

“I got to play three whole games of Minesweeper before Combeferre gave me a disappointed look and I started taking notes again,” Courfeyrac answers as he and Combeferre sit on the bench across from him. Combeferre rolls his eyes. “So, not terrible. How was your 8am?” 

“It was fine,” Enjolras responds, looking at his phone when it vibrates. He reads over the text, a recognizable smile forming on his face, and then looks back up at them. “Are you two still having a movie night tonight?” he asks, trying to sound casual.

“Yes! Most of the group will be there, my place at 6, are you coming?” Courfeyrac asks excitedly.

Enjolras glances at Combeferre before nodding and beginning to type out a text. “I’ll be there.” 

“Great! We’ll see you and Grantaire then!” Courfeyrac beams. 

Enjolras frowns, moving his phone closer to himself to hide the screen. “I didn’t say-“

“You didn’t need to,” Courfeyrac smirks. 

* * *

Later that night, they crowd into Marius and Courfeyrac’s apartment, and Combeferre can’t find it in himself to be disappointed that he’s not spending time alone Courfeyrac when he’s surrounded by his friends. 

“Did anyone else get a chance to read Jehan’s newsletter yet?” Bahorel asks soon after he and Feuilly arrive, carrying a platter of cupcakes. They’re an hour late, but the group still hasn’t gotten around to deciding which movie to watch. 

“That was today?” Bossuet gasps, hurrying to grab his phone.

“It was very well put together, they even included an invitation to our meetings at the end of the article about campus clubs and student organizations,” Enjolras answers. He glances at Combeferre. “The horoscopes were interesting, as well.”

Courfeyrac perks up at that. “Horoscopes? Since when do you read those? Do you even know what your sign is?”

“It’s Leo,” Grantaire responds after watching Enjolras struggle to answer for a few seconds. Combeferre catches the wink he throws at a flustered Enjolras before he takes a drink of his soda. 

“Correct! And in case you forgot, Enj, we share the same birthday, so let’s see what fate has in store for us this week,” Courfeyrac grins, pulling up the newsletter on his phone. “Aha! ‘You would do better to treat any romantic invitations with a pinch of salt, considering the position of the planets this week. This doesn't mean that you can't enjoy a great time out, but you need to be realistic about the future of the relationship. A lot could change in a few weeks.’” 

Combeferre can feel Enjolras’s glare from across the room, and he avoids eye contact. He didn’t even know Enjolras and Courfeyrac’s sign, but he does know that his roommate and Grantaire are dancing around each other enough without stupid internet horoscopes to complicate things or make them feel even more awkward. 

He’s also glad no one else knows he wrote that, because to Enjolras he can explain, but he doesn’t think everyone would believe he just happened to randomly find that on the internet and insert it under the section of Courfeyrac’s star sign. He likes to think his crush on his friend is subtle, but with how well they all know each other, he’s pretty sure most of them have caught on by now. 

“Well,” Eponine grins from where she’s sitting on the floor. “Things are not really as they seem, that’s interesting,” she says pointedly before she throws a glance at Grantaire and, to Combeferre’s surprise, at Courfeyrac. 

* * *

After they all finish watching Rogue One, Combeferre stays behind to help tidy up a bit. Courfeyrac is a little quiet, and Combeferre nudges him. 

“What’s up? Still sad about that ending?”

“Well, obviously, it doesn’t get better no matter how many times I watch it. But no, that’s not it,” Courfeyrac answers.

“I see. Romantic invitations on your mind then?” he teases. 

“Not currently, why? Did you want to make one?” Courfeyrac answers smoothly. He seems to realize what he said once it’s left his mouth, and he quickly adds, “What did your horoscope say?”

Combeferre blinks, wondering what just happened. “Uh, I’m not sure. I never remember my sign.”

“It’s Libra,” Courfeyrac smiles softly. Combeferre raises an eyebrow and his friend shrugs, blushing slightly. “I have a good memory.” 

“I’ll have to check out my horoscope tonight, then,” Combeferre smiles. “Um, what are you doing on Sunday night?”

Courfeyrac looks at him. ‘ _Yes, this is a romantic invitation, I’m just too nervous to admit it, please read my mind_ ’, Combeferre thinks. 

“Hopefully I’m catching up on The Good Place with you as we cook a frozen pizza,” Courfeyrac answers after a few moments, folding up a blanket and throwing it on the couch. 

“You’re still behind?” Combeferre asks, laughing. 

“I keep forgetting! You don’t have to, I know you’ve already seen them-“

“No, it’s okay, I’ll rewatch them with you,” Combeferre insists. 

Courfeyrac shakes his head. “How did I get so lucky to have you in my life?” 

“I wonder the same thing about you all the time,” Combeferre responds softly. 

Courfeyrac smiles up at him and Combeferre suddenly realizes how close they are standing. Courfeyrac bites his lip and he tries not to let his gaze linger there. He takes a deep breath. Courfeyrac is watching him with wide eyes. It would be so easy to just lean down and close the distance with-

“Hey Ferre! Can you take out the trash on your way home?” Marius asks from the kitchen. 

Combeferre resists sighing as he takes a step back. “Yes, of course.”

“I’ll go with you,” Courfeyrac offers, his cheeks flushed. 

“It’s okay, it’s still pretty cold outside, you stay here,” Combeferre tells him, putting on his jacket. He’s not sure what Marius interrupted, but he feels like he needs some fresh air, and being around Courfeyrac is making it hard for him to think and breathe. “I’ll see you later, Courf. Goodnight.”

Courfeyrac hugs him tightly. “Goodnight.”

Combeferre smiles as his curls tickle his chin, then he pulls back and takes the trash bag from Marius. 

Once the door shuts, he’s too far down the hallway to hear Courfeyrac’s exasperated cry of “Marius!”

* * *

Combeferre makes sure his footsteps are loud and he takes an unnecessary amount of time jangling his keys before unlocking the door to the apartment, some precautions he started to take a few months ago to warn whoever is inside that he is about to interrupt them. 

(Not that Enjolras and Grantaire are quite there yet, but they usually spend time alone together after group gatherings, and Combeferre is willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.)

He is surprised when it’s just Enjolras in the living room, typing on his phone from his favorite spot on the couch. 

“Where’s Grantaire?” he asks. 

“He doesn’t live here,” Enjolras retorts. 

Combeferre rolls his eyes. “Sometimes I doubt that.” 

Enjolras pretends not to hear him. “Nice job on the horoscopes. Sure you weren’t trying to drop any hints?”

“To whom, you or Courf?” Combeferre asks. “I told you, I didn’t know his sign. Or yours. Or even mine.” 

Enjolras shrugs. “Well, he seemed to like it.”

Combeferre thinks about that as he gets ready for bed. He’s about to lay down when he grabs his phone. 

_(11:01pm) To Jehan: No one else knows I wrote those horoscopes, right?_

_(11:03pm) From Jehan: i didn’t tell anyone, no_

Combeferre sighs in relief. 

_(11:03pm) To Jehan: Can we keep it that way?_

_(11:06pm) From Jehan: sure thing xx they were perfect btw, how would u feel about doing some for next week too? :)))_

_(11:06pm) From Jehan: i’ll buy you more tea_

_(11:08pm) To Jehan: I’ll do it. Only because I love you. And tea._

_(11:09pm) From Jehan: YAY!!!!! thx ferre xx gn_

_(11:09pm) To Jehan: Goodnight, Jehan._

**WEEK 2**

There is a number scribbled on Courfeyrac’s receipt when they go to lunch a few days later. Courfeyrac stares at it for a few moments before throwing it away. 

“Why’d you do that?” Combeferre asks, hoping he doesn’t sound as relieved as he feels. He wasn’t oblivious to the cashier and the way she had been smiling at Courfeyrac, and there had been a pit in his stomach ever since he saw her write on his receipt.

Courfeyrac shrugs. “I’m being realistic about the future of the relationship,” he responds vaguely, quoting his horoscope. 

“How do you know there’s no future?”

Courfeyrac gives him a look he can’t read. “I have other ideas in mind.” 

* * *

On Thursday night, Combeferre finds him in the library again. 

“What are you up to?” he asks, taking a seat next to Courfeyrac. 

“Grading papers. Most of the theses just aren’t strong enough, I’m trying to think how I can help them in the future,” Courfeyrac frowns. 

Combeferre hums thoughtfully. “Maybe you could do some kind of lecture outside of class focused on that?”

“That’s a good idea, I just don’t know when I’ll have time,” Courfeyrac sighs. “The semester has barely started and my schedule is already filling up like crazy. I’ll figure it out though. Thanks, Ferre.”

“Of course. I’m headed home, anything I can do for you? Get you coffee? A Snickers? A pep talk?”

Courfeyrac looks up from his laptop, smiling. “No thank you, but that’s really sweet of you to offer. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Combeferre nods and leaves the library, an idea on his mind. By the time he gets home, he has it all figured out. 

He walks past where Enjolras and Grantaire are on the couch, sitting very close to each other as they do homework, and closes his door before stretching out on his bed. He pulls out his laptop, opens the email he had drafted to Jehan, and starts typing. 

* * *

After their statistics class, Courfeyrac gets an email notification on his phone. “The newsletter is out,” he gasps. “Let’s find Enjolras and tell him his horoscope for the week!”

They meet up with Enjolras outside the library, and Courfeyrac immediately starts reading their horoscope out loud without any introduction. 

“‘Make time for yourself this week. You can’t help others before you help yourself, so allow yourself to be appropriately selfish, and everything else will fall into place’,” he reads. “Hmm. That’s actually really insightful. I needed to hear that this week.”

“That’s crazy,” Enjolras says flatly, leading the way inside the building. 

“Did you even listen, Enjolras? I better not come to the meeting next week to find out you’ve pulled another all-nighter to organize your thoughts and ideas,” Courfeyrac warns. 

Enjolras rolls his eyes. The three of them find an empty table and he waits until Courfeyrac excuses himself twenty minutes later to get some water before asking, “What was that one about?”

Combeferre shrugs. “He mentioned he’s got a lot on his plate. I just wanted to give him a reminder.”

“So you’re helping Courf through horoscopes now?” Enjolras asks. “Are you going to do this every week?” 

“I can do this every week,” Combeferre casually offers a few hours later as he and Jehan take a seat in their favorite on-campus cafe. 

Jehan raises an eyebrow. “You want to write the horoscopes every week? What makes you say that?”

Combeferre opens his mouth and hesitates. He hasn’t admitted his feelings for Courfeyrac out loud to anyone other than Enjolras, who figured it out pretty quickly on his own.

Jehan leans back in their seat, taking a sip of their tea. “Does it have anything to do with the fact that Courfeyrac told me how much he loves the horoscopes? Apparently, the one today was just what he needed to hear.”

Combeferre runs a hand through his hair. “I...maybe? He just seems to really enjoy them, I figured I could help him out a little.”

“That’s adorable, Ferre,” Jehan winks. “Really. You’re a good friend.”

They don’t talk about it, but they’ve also been friends for years, ever since they were randomly assigned to be roommates for their first year. Combeferre has the impression that Jehan already knows. 

* * *

Combeferre comes home to find Enjolras cooking in their kitchen. His roommate waves at him with a spatula and pauses the YouTube lecture he’s listening to.

“Care for a grilled cheese sandwich?” he asks.

Combeferre laughs and takes a seat at their small dining table. “I can never turn down such a generous offer. How is studying going?”

“Not too bad. I’ve been reviewing by watching some videos. How is Jehan?” Enjolras asks, grabbing more slices of bread.

“Great. Getting the newsletter started has been stressful, but they feel like they have a better grasp on it now.”

“That’s good. It’s a lot to take on, but it’s a great experience. They’re minoring in journalism, right?” Enjolras asks, and Combeferre nods. “Exciting. Have they asked you to keep writing the horoscopes?”

“I offered to,” Combeferre says, watching Enjolras flip the sandwich in the pan. “It’s the least I can do.”

“Right,” Enjolras winks at him. “When are you going to tell Courfeyrac?”

“I’m not sure. Can you...not tell him?” Combeferre asks. “I don’t want him to know, yet.”

“Sure,” Enjolras shrugs, and Combeferre is glad he doesn’t push the subject.

“Thank you,” Combeferre says. Enjolras puts the sandwich on a plate and sets it in front of Combeferre. His friend has admitted on several occasions that this is the best he can do when it comes to cooking, and Combeferre doesn’t mind that it’s a little burnt on one side. “And thanks for the food.”

“Anytime. If you want, I can help you master the skill of toasting two pieces of bread and a slice of cheese, I’m sure that will get you in Courf’s pants,” Enjolras says dryly, smirking before taking a bite of his own sandwich.

Combeferre kicks him under the table. “If it hasn’t worked for you and Grantaire, I’m not too hopeful.”

He moves his leg before Enjolras can kick him back.

**WEEK 3**

“Hey Ferre,” Courfeyrac greets a few days later, giving a small smile. 

“What’s wrong?” Combeferre frowns. He had been excited to spot Courfeyrac sitting on the ground of the student center hallway, laptop on his thighs, but he can instantly see that something is off. He glances at his watch. He can afford talking for a few minutes before heading off to class, so he joins him on the ground. 

Courfeyrac sighs. “Is it that obvious?”

“We’ve been friends for almost seven years, I’d like to think I know you pretty well by now,” Combeferre shrugs. “Everything okay?”

“Marius is just having a hard time. There’s some stuff going on with his grandfather, and he feels like he made a fool of himself in front of Cosette’s dad when they met for the first time the other day. And he’s taking 19 credits this semester and working and he has a girlfriend. I’ve been worried about him and I don’t know what to do to help.”

“Your capacity for empathy is something I really admire, Courf,” Combeferre tells him sincerely. “There is only so much you can do. And that’s okay.”

Combeferre wants to say more, but Courfeyrac’s phone begins to ring. “I’ve got to take this, it’s the professor I TA for,” he explains. Combeferre smiles when he notices his ringtone is still “Never Gonna Give You Up” from the time Bahorel changed it during a prank war in November. “I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”

Combeferre nods with a smile and pushes himself off the ground. “Of course,” he says. He gives Courfeyrac a wave and then pulls out his phone to type out his new horoscope idea.

* * *

Courfeyrac walks in the apartment without knocking on Friday evening, and Combeferre looks up from where he’s reading on the couch with a smile. 

“Hey,” he greets. “How was the thesis master class thing with your students?”

“It went pretty well! I’m so glad I found the time, I think it really helped,” Courfeyrac grins triumphantly, looking around the kitchen for some snacks before giving up and joining his friend on the couch. He leans against him with a sigh. “Thank goodness it’s the weekend. All I have the energy to do right now is watch The Good Place with my best friend as we snuggle on the couch.”

Combeferre reaches for the remote. “How convenient, that’s all I have the energy to do as well.”

“Hey, where’s Enjolras?” Courfeyrac asks a few minutes in. 

“Probably with Grantaire,” Combeferre replies easily. 

“You’re so right,” Courfeyrac snickers. “Those two are unbearable.”

“If they don’t get their act together soon, I may just snap and break the ‘no meddling’ agreement we all made,” Combeferre says. 

“Bunch of pining dorks, if you ask me,” Courfeyrac smiles. “Enjolras would overthink it even if Grantaire had a neon sign over his head that said: _Enjolras, kiss me_!” Combeferre laughs and Courfeyrac gasps. “Wait, signs, that reminds me...” he pulls out his phone. “I haven’t read the horoscope for this week! Here we go, ‘Leo’s are always extremely generous and loyal to their friends. They will always be seen as a genuine friend, and even if they can’t help they can help calm and make people feel better by being around them’,” Courfeyrac’s voice is quiet as he finishes reading it. “That’s so sweet.” 

“It’s true,” Combeferre says softly. “I know you wish you could do more for Marius, but don’t forget that you already do so much for everyone you love, Courf. It’s natural to feel overwhelmed and helpless when you find yourself in a situation where you can’t do much for them. But I promise you, that doesn’t mean you’re not a good friend or person. You’re a great friend, just by being who you are.”

Courfeyrac has tears in his eyes when he looks up at Combeferre. “Thank you.” He snuggles closer to him, fitting perfectly in Combeferre’s arms and eventually drifting off to sleep to the sound of Chidi and Eleanor admitting their love for each other. 

* * *

Enjolras comes home the next day, clearly in a bad mood. 

“Hey, how was your day?” Combeferre asks lightly from the couch, taking in his clenched jaw and tight shoulders. 

“It was fine,” Enjolras responds quickly. “Until I met up with Grantaire for coffee. So stupid. I was going to be all smooth and flirtatious, but the barista winked at him and it completely threw me off. It’s like I was mad at him because other people can flirt with him. He picked up that something was wrong and it was just...weird.”

“Oh, Enjolras,” Combeferre says softly. 

Enjolras is taking out the gallon of ice cream that they always have ready in the freezer. “It’s not fair of me to be jealous when he’s not dating me. He doesn’t even know I like him.” Enjolras pauses, enjoying the bite of ice cream. “It’s my goal to let him know by the end of the semester. But every time I’m close to saying something, I talk myself out of it. I’m worried about what he’ll say, I don’t know if I could take the rejection. You know?”

“You know that I know all too well,” Combeferre grins humorlessly. Unfortunately, he can relate to everything Enjolras is saying.

Enjolras silently brings the gallon over to the living room and hands Combeferre a spoon.

**WEEKS 4 & 5**

The next Friday, Courfeyrac reads out the horoscope as the three of them walk home together. He finishes the sentence in a small voice, then reads it over and over again to himself, smiling the whole time. Enjolras gives Combeferre a thumbs up. 

The Friday after that, they’re in the library, and Courfeyrac silently hands the phone over to the two of them across the table to read together. When they hand the phone back, Courfeyrac is grinning widely. 

“I want to meet whoever writes these horoscopes,” Courfeyrac says later that day. “They seem so...awesome.”

“Yes, they do,” Enjolras hums, avoiding eye contact with his roommate. Combeferre smiles at the floor. 

  
  


**WEEK 6**

“Combeferre,” Enjolras starts in a sing-song voice, and for a moment Combeferre is worried that a stranger broke into his apartment. But no, it’s just Enjolras, acting like a dork. 

Combeferre closes the front door behind him and walks into the apartment, finding Jehan on the couch with his roommate. 

“Hello, you two,” he greets, ignoring the look on Enjolras’s face. He looks at Jehan instead and finds them wearing a similar, mischievous smirk. “What brings you here?” he asks.

Jehan points to their laptop on the coffee table. “I was interviewing Enjolras for an article this week. Have you noticed more people have been attending Les Amis meetings since we’ve mentioned them once or twice in the newsletter?”

“I have, yeah, that’s wonderful,” he nods, leaning against the wall to take off his shoes. 

“I figured we’d talk a bit more about them in this week’s issue in case anyone is still on the fence to come check us out,” Jehan shrugs. Combeferre notices their screen is black, the laptop having gone to sleep, and wonders what else they were talking about. “And then we had some extra time, so we were discussing Friday,” Jehan adds as if they can read his mind.

“Friday,” Combeferre starts slowly.

“The fourteenth,” Enjolras says patiently. When Combeferre continues to stare at them blankly, he sighs. “February fourteenth.”

The two of them are looking expectantly at Combeferre, and he looks away as he drops his bag and keys on the counter. “No.”

“Ferre!” Enjolras immediately protests. “Listen, it’s perfect. Courfeyrac is all about cheesy, romantic things. You can write some cute horoscope and then reveal to him that it is you, writer of horoscopes and lover of Courfeyracs.”

Combeferre doesn’t give him the dignity of acknowledging that. Instead, he stares at his two friends for several moments before sighing. He takes a seat in the armchair. “I can’t.”

“Sure you can!” Enjolras says, his excitement building. “We’ll help you come up with a date idea, we can pick up some sunflowers from campus floral, I’ll stay out of the apartment that night-”

“Courfeyrac has a date on Friday.”

Both of their expressions fall. 

“Oh, Ferre,” Jehan says gently after several moments.

“It’s fine,” Combeferre sighs. 

“What did he say exactly?” Enjolras frowns.

“You know how the Life Sciences department has free shows in their planetarium every Friday night? We went to those all the time last semester. I asked if he wanted to go this week and he said ‘I don’t know, I might be going there with my hot Valentine’s date’,” Combeferre explains quietly, staring at a stain on the coffee table. “It seemed like a joke, but Marius came into the apartment before I could figure out if he was serious or not.”

Jehan hides their laughter in their hands while Enjolras throws his hands in the air in exasperation. “You moron! He meant you. He clearly meant you. He wanted you to ask him to the planetarium as a date!” 

Combeferre opens his mouth to protest but then lets it close. That...that did make a lot of sense, now that he thinks back on the conversation. The pointed look Courfeyrac had given him, the way he looked disappointed when Combeferre made up some excuse to leave soon after Marius came in... “Oh. I messed that one up.”

Enjolras looks like he wants to shake some sense into his roommate. “Combeferre, you’re the smartest guy I know, but when it comes to Courfeyrac, I really am amazed at the way your brain works,” he says, sounding like it is taking all of his strength to be patient. “Or rather, fails to work.” 

Combeferre can’t argue with that. “Great. Well, now what?”

“I’ll tell you what,” Jehan says excitedly, standing up suddenly and holding out a hand. They pull Combeferre out of his chair and stand on the coffee table to fix his hair. “It’s just past 5:30 now. Go to the student center, the information desk closes at 6 and that’s where they have the tickets for Friday’s planetarium. It’s still free, but they’re doing a special show for Valentine’s day so you have to get the tickets in advance. Get two tickets, go to Courfeyrac’s apartment, and ask him out. It’ll be so cute, trust us. Now go!” 

They give Combeferre’s shoulder an urgent nudge and Combeferre realizes that they meant he has to do this right now. As in, _right now_ right now. He picks up his keys from the kitchen counter, slides his shoes back on his feet, and runs out the door without a second thought, his two friends cheering behind him. He loves them, he really does. He thinks maybe he can actually do this.

The warm feeling their support gave him slightly dissipates as he steps outside. The few drops of rain he felt on his way home had now turned into a full shower. He hesitates, thinking maybe he can turn around and grab his umbrella, but there isn’t much time, he doesn’t want to risk it. Instead, he starts to run.

By the time he enters the student center, he probably looks like a mad man. He’s breathing hard, clutching a stitch in his side, and he’s thoroughly soaked. He tries wiping his glasses off on his wet sleeve but he’s not very successful. He gives up and walks across the empty room to the information desk.

“Cosette!” he grins, feeling relieved to see a friendly face. He doesn’t know her as well as he would like to, but he has always appreciated her kindness. “I forgot you work here.”

Cosette beams up at him from the other side of the desk. “Hey Combeferre!” she greets. “How far did you have to swim to get here?”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” He looks back at the wet trail behind him with a wince. “Listen, um, I was hoping to get two tickets for the planetarium on Friday?”

Her smile falters and she gives him a sympathetic look. “Those have been really popular, I gave the last pair away an hour ago. I’m sorry.” 

Combeferre stares at her, hoping she’ll crack a smile and say she’s kidding, here are the tickets, have a great night. But she just keeps looking back at him, her frown deepening.

“Right,” he sighs heavily. “Okay. Thanks. Sorry again about the mess, er, do you have a mop? I can clean it up.”

She shakes her head, the smile reappearing. “Don’t worry about it, I got it. Who did you want the tickets for?” she asks innocently, but something in her eyes tells him that she already knows the answer.

“I wanted to take Courf,” he says, squeezing some water out of his hair. 

She shakes her head. “Sorry man, the stars aren’t aligned in your favor today.”

“Tell me about it,” he smiles ruefully. “And here I thought I was controlling them.” Cosette raises an eyebrow at that, and Combeferre sighs. It’s been a weird evening already, he might as well embrace it. “I’m writing the horoscopes for Jehan’s newsletter.”

Cosette’s eyes widen. “The ones that Courfeyrac has been obsessing over?”

“Obsessing over? I don’t know about that…”

“Oh, I do. He calls me every Friday night to read me my horoscope, and then he reads me his. He is crazy about them, Ferre. He says it’s almost weird how much they apply to them.”

“Yeah, I may have been writing them specifically for him,” Combeferre explains, wincing as soon as he says it. “Is that weird? It’s weird, isn’t it? I just want to help him…”

“I think it’s adorable,” Cosette winks. “Really. It’s not weird. When are you going to tell him?”

“After I ask him out.” Combeferre isn’t dripping as much, so he leans against the desk. “I was maybe going to do something for him on Valentine’s day, but I don’t know. The planetarium was pretty much my only plan, now I’m out of ideas.”

Cosette looks around the desk station and grabs one of the flowers from a bouquet on display next to her. She hands it to Combeferre. “Here. If you want to wait for my shift to be done in ten minutes, we can walk to his apartment together. I was going to visit Marius anyway, and I actually have an umbrella.”

“That would be great,” Combeferre smiles in gratitude, taking the single rose from her and placing it carefully on one of the empty chairs near the desk. Since he is staying to wait for her, Cosette lets him mop up his mess as she packs up her things.

“Hey Cosette?” he says after a minute, a thought coming to his mind. She looks over at him. “Could you...could you not tell Courfeyrac? Or even Marius? About the horoscope thing, I mean.”

Cosette smiles and mimes zipping her lips and throwing away the key.

It’s not raining as hard when they leave, but the umbrella still provides some much needed relief from the storm. They huddle under it together, and by the time they make it to Marius and Courfeyrac’s apartment, Combeferre feels a bond with and appreciation for Cosette that he hadn’t been able to have before. 

Marius unlocks the front door for them, greeting his girlfriend with a kiss on the cheek. “Uh, Courfeyrac isn’t here,” he says to Combeferre.

Combeferre deflates a little. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know, he’s been gone about an hour. He didn’t tell me when he would be back, but when he does I’ll let him know you stopped by.”

Combeferre’s stomach drops and Cosette gives him a sad look. He forces a small smile. “Alright, thanks.”

Enjolras and Jehan are still on the couch when he walks in, but now they’re sharing Enjolras’s blanket and watching a serial killer documentary that Combeferre doesn’t recognize.

“How did it go?” Jehan asks immediately, sitting up as Enjolras scrambles to pause the show.

They take in his wet clothes and ruined hair in silence, and Combeferre sighs. He only just realized he still has the rose from Cosette in his hands. It now looks limp and depressing.

He tosses it in the kitchen trash. “I got soaked to the bone on my way there. They were sold out of planetarium tickets. And he wasn’t at his apartment.”

They both have matching looks of pity. “I’m so sorry, Ferre,” Enjolras says eventually.

“I guess it’s not meant to be,” Combeferre replies, defeated. “I’m going to take a hot shower.”

It’s not until he’s out of the shower and dressed that he realizes he left his phone behind when he went to get the tickets. He finds it in his bag on the counter, the screen showing a few missed calls and texts from Courfeyrac.

_(5:37pm) From Courfeyrac: hey! I’m STARVING. do u want to meet me at the musain for some all you can eat french fries?_

_(5:42pm) From Courfeyrac: just let me know_

_(5:48pm) From Courfeyrac: i’m headed over there now_

_(5:50pm) From Courfeyrac: D U D E. r u alive_

_(6:01pm) From Courfeyrac: i will eat some fries in ur memory_

Combeferre falls into his bed and buries his head in the pillow for a second, feeling the weight of all his failures of the evening crashing in on him. He allows himself a pity party for a few moments before looking up some love related horoscopes. 

* * *

Combeferre chickens out. 

He finds some cheesy, romantic horoscopes and he is tempted to use them to whoo Courfeyrac, but the closer that Valentine’s day gets, the more nervous he becomes. What if Courfeyrac got tired of waiting for Combeferre to make a move and he found someone else to spend time with on Valentine’s day? What if Courfeyrac hadn’t been joking and he really did have a date to the planetarium? 

It’s too much for him to think about. He doesn’t want to get his hopes up. On Wednesday night, he copies and pastes some random horoscopes without looking at them and Jehan doesn’t comment, just sending a _thank you <3 _ text a few minutes after the email has been sent.

The night before Valentine’s day, he runs into Eponine on the way home from class.

“Hey,” she greets after he catches her attention and stops to wait for him to catch up. “Are you heading home?”

“Yes,” he answers slowly. “Why? Wait, is this another intervention to get me to do something for Courfeyrac for Valentine’s day tomorrow?”

“Another intervention? Are you telling me you already had one?”

Combeferre sighs. “Enjolras and Jehan. It didn’t exactly work out.”

She raises an eyebrow at him. “I’m actually planning to speak with Enjolras. I would say that it applies to you as well, but if the first attempt didn’t work, it might be a lost cause. I’m not sure how many interventions it will take for you to get your act together, but I’m guessing the answer is more than two.”

Combeferre can’t even get offended by this. She has a point.

“Does this count as meddling?” he asks, changing the subject.

She raises an eyebrow at him. “It’s Valentine’s day, we’re just going to call this a gentle nudge. Some friendly persuasion. It was Joly and Bossuet’s idea to send me since Enjolras takes me pretty seriously.”

Her point is proven when they walk in the apartment and Enjolras looks up at them from his current study spot at the dining table. “Combeferre. Eponine,” he greets, closing his laptop and immediately giving her his full attention.

Eponine takes a seat next to him and he doesn’t protest as she pushes some of his notes out of the way to lean forward. “Got any plans for Valentine’s day?” she asks without prelude.

Enjolras looks between the two of them. “I know what this is.”

“Hey, you did it to me first,” Combeferre holds up his hands in defense. “Now we’re even. We just want to help you.”

“Yeah, help you stop acting like a dumbass,” Eponine tells him. Enjolras doesn’t even blink. “We all know where you got that hoodie from.”

Enjolras looks down at his paint-stained green hoodie, and Eponine glances back at Combeferre. He gets the feeling this is a good-cop-bad-cop type of situation, leaving him to be the good cop.

He sits down across from Enjolras. “Listen. You said you would talk to Grantaire about your feelings before the end of the semester. Why not use Valentine’s day as some extra motivation?”

Enjolras frowns, staring down at the stickers on his laptop. His finger is absently tracing the outline of the one that is a raised fist, filled in with the colors of the transgender flag. Combeferre recognizes it as one that Grantaire had personally designed for Enjolras. “Because I may have accidentally lost my temper with him again today.”

Eponine sighs. “This conversation is going to take longer than I thought.”

* * *

Courfeyrac looks as handsome as ever when Combeferre meets him to walk to statistics on the morning of Valentine’s day. Combeferre isn’t sure if he is imagining it or if Courfeyrac is walking closer to him than usual on their way to campus.

“Any hot plans for Valentine’s day?” Courfeyrac asks in the middle of their conversation, and it sounds like he’s trying a little too hard to be casual.

Combeferre shakes his head, sneaking a glance at his friend. He had been afraid to bring this subject up. “Not this year, no. You?”

“Nah,” Courfeyrac says, putting his hands in his pockets, and Combeferre breathes a sigh of relief. “Do you want to find something to do? Maybe the planetarium? Oh wait-”

“They’re sold out.”

“-they’re sold out.”

They say this in unison, then look at each other with wide eyes.

“How did you know they’re sold out?” Courfeyrac asks him, and Combeferre feels the heat rise up in his cheeks. He’s grateful his dark skin is hiding his blush.

“Cosette told me,” he shrugs. “She...she mentioned it’s been a little bit busier at the desk because of the tickets.”

“Right,” Courfeyrac says. “She told me, too. I wanted to get tickets but I was too late.”

Combeferre opens his mouth to ask who Courfeyrac wanted to go to the planetarium with, but he decides against it. There isn’t enough ice cream in his freezer to console him if the answer isn’t what he wants it to be. Instead, he asks, “Do you want to watch a movie tonight? I have frozen pizza.”

“Yes! That sounds great,” Courfeyrac agrees quickly.

“Perfect,” Combeferre says. “We can be single together on Valentine’s day.”

“Perfect,” Courfeyrac echoes, and Combeferre is not sure if he imagined it, or if Courfeyrac’s voice lost some enthusiasm. 

* * *

When Enjolras comes home that night, he finds Courfeyrac and Combeferre cuddling on the couch, Courfeyrac fast asleep with his head resting on Combeferre’s chest. The movie is still playing, but Combeferre isn’t paying as much attention to it as he is trying not to wake up his friend. Enjolras’s eyes widen and a smile starts to form on his face, but Combeferre shakes his head. Enjolras’s face falls, mouthing a “Sorry” at his roommate. 

Combeferre half shrugs, then raises a questioning eyebrow at him. After about forty minutes, he and Eponine had gotten through to Enjolras the night before. He had told them that he was going to try to do some kind of romantic gesture for Grantaire, but didn’t make any promises about actually confessing his feelings to him. 

Enjolras shakes his head, pulling out his phone.

_(10:59pm) From Enjolras: I chickened out. He just looked so good today._

Combeferre looks up from the text and gives his friend a sympathetic smile and a wave goodnight as he heads to his room.

The two of them are still single. Happy Valentine’s day, he thinks miserably.

**WEEK 7**

Things go back to normal after that. The air isn’t as awkward between Combeferre and Courfeyrac, Enjolras doesn’t bring up Courfeyrac to his roommate, and the apartment is still full of sexual tension when Combeferre walks in to find Enjolras and Grantaire on the sofa. It’s almost as if the week of Valentine’s day never happened.

It is kind of a relief, but it doesn’t change the fact that Combeferre still hasn’t done anything about his feelings for Courfeyrac. They’re both busy with some exams around the corner, so they don’t even get to spend some time together until the following Thursday while walking home from the library.

“I appreciate you, kind sir, for accompanying me safely to my living quarters,” Courfeyrac tells him with a fake accent and a smirk when they stop in front of the door to Courfeyrac’s apartment. He is wearing the scarf that Combeferre gave him at the beginning of the semester, and the sight makes his stomach do cartwheels.

“Thank you for your company, I will now leave you to enjoy the rest of your evening in peace and solitude,” Combeferre smiles, bowing slightly.

Courfeyrac’s nose scrunches as he giggles, and his laughter is the most beautiful sound Combeferre has ever heard. 

“No really, Ferre. Thank _you._ I’ve been kind of stressed out with my workload lately and it’s been hard not seeing you as much, but now you totally turned my day around, as you always do,” Courfeyrac is looking up at him, and Combeferre’s stomach is doing flip flops. He wants to say something, but his mind is blank as he looks back at Courfeyrac. There’s a fire in his eyes, a silent plea, an expectant silence. 

Combeferre licks his lips and Courfeyrac’s eyes dart down briefly to watch the movement before looking back up at Combeferre, biting his own lips. His breath stutters as Courfeyrac takes a step forward. He can feel the warmth of his body. Courfeyrac can probably hear his heart beating wildly, but Combeferre doesn’t care. 

He’s going to do it. 

He is always so unsure about how Courfeyrac feels, but at this moment it feels like his eyes are silently screaming for him to do something. It’s like he has a neon sign above his head that says “ _Combeferre, kiss me!_ ” He can’t believe he didn’t see it before, he can’t believe he didn’t make a move on Valentine’s day. That Combeferre was a coward, this Combeferre is filled with resolve. He realizes his head is moving forward slowly.

And then Courfeyrac’s phone is ringing, and the moment is shattered as “Never Gonna Give You Up” starts playing. Combeferre doesn’t remember when he reached out for Courfeyrac’s hand, but once he notices he hastily lets go and takes a step back. All the uncertainty floods back. Did that just happen? What was that? Did Courfeyrac feel the same way? 

“Guess I should head back,” Combeferre says quickly. “Goodnight.”

Courfeyrac is silent and he doesn’t move as Combeferre rushes toward the stairs, letting the call go to voicemail and still standing there a few minutes after the ringtone has faded into silence. 

Combeferre’s hands are shaking slightly as he unlocks the door to the apartment. Enjolras and Grantaire are sitting close on the couch, in the middle of a low conversation, but when Enjolras looks up he immediately sits up straight with his usual Forehead Crease of Concern. “Are you okay, Ferre?” he frowns. 

Combeferre collapses in the arm chair and runs his hand through his hair. “Yes. Maybe. I think so,” his voice is slightly higher than usual, and he clears his throat. “I’m not sure. I think...I think Courfeyrac likes me. Obviously he likes me, but I mean more than a friend. But...he keeps hesitating. Like maybe he is changing his mind. Or something. I feel like I’m missing something.”

He’s staring at the ground, too distracted to notice the looks Enjolras and Grantaire share and the quick facepalm from Grantaire. 

“What happened?” Grantaire asks after a few moments. 

“We...I don’t know. I walked him to his apartment. We were talking and laughing all the way to the front door, then we stopped and Courfeyrac looked at me and was biting his lip and my mouth was suddenly really dry and he said something sweet. I wish I could tell you I had a surge of bravery and I just kissed him, but his phone started ringing so I turned around and I literally ran. I ran all the way here to get my anxious energy out,” Combeferre sighs. “Then again, maybe he thinks I’m the one sending mixed signals, and I’m missing the hint.”

“You should write a horoscope about being more clear about your intentions,” Grantaire smirks. 

“Hilarious,” Combeferre says flatly. “I ran out of time this week, so I just sent some more generic...wait. How did you know about the horoscopes, R?”

“Enjolras is bad at keeping secrets,” Grantaire shrugs. 

“Who else knows?” Combeferre asks, sitting up straighter with wide eyes. 

“I didn’t tell anyone else, I promise!” Enjolras insists, and one look tells Combeferre that he is telling the truth. 

“Although...I didn’t know it was a secret until after I told Eponine and Joly,” Grantaire confesses. 

“Great, so now they and Musichetta and Bossuet are sure to know by now,” Combeferre sinks lower in his seat. “And I told Cosette last week.”

“What are you worried about?” Enjolras asks. 

“I’m worried that Courfeyrac will find out and he’ll realize I’m a coward that’s been speaking to him through horoscopes. Maybe he’ll think it’s weird. Maybe he’ll realize why I’m doing it, and he won’t know how to reject me. I don’t know. It just feels weird,” Combeferre lets out a groan. 

“Well, I told them not to tell Courfeyrac. Or Marius, we all remember how Feuilly’s surprise birthday party went down last April…” Grantaire shakes his head. “They all thought it was adorable. And Courf will too, whenever he finds out.”

“So now they know about my crush on Courf, too?” Combeferre asks him, defeated.

“Was it supposed to be a secret? I’m pretty sure we all figured it out ages ago,” Grantaire snorts, and Enjolras elbows him in the side. 

**WEEK 8**

Usually, they all like to stick around after Les Amis meetings to chat, but Combeferre sees how tense Enjolras is the following Monday as he packs up his notes.

“I’m going to make sure he’s alright,” Combeferre says softly to Courfeyrac. 

Courfeyrac smiles. “Good idea. You’re the best, Ferre.”

Combeferre returns the smile and collects his things, following Enjolras through the door. 

“Enjolras,” Combeferre starts, his tone ready to lecture his best friend and roommate once they’ve stepped outside, both of them walking briskly toward their apartment. 

“I know, I know. I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t take Grantaire’s bait. I shouldn’t get so riled up that I start shouting. I shouldn’t let us fight so much,” Enjolras sighs. “I’m just...afraid. I have to keep my guard up, or else I’ll say or do something dumb, like confess my feelings for him in the heat of the moment.” 

“You’re being defensive around him, which is hard to let go of. Especially when you’re keeping something from him. But you’ve got to open up if you want to let him in,” Combeferre says gently. 

“You spend too much time reading horoscopes,” Enjolras snorts. “But you’re right. I get too defensive, too flustered. If I just...told him, maybe I could act normally around him again. This would be so much easier.”

“That’s correct,” Combeferre sighs. “Easier said than done, though, right?”

Enjolras groans. “We’re a mess.”

* * *

“Wow, this is almost freaky,” Courfeyrac shakes his head, staring at his phone a few days later. 

“What is?” Combeferre asks, looking up from his laptop screen. Today they’re sitting at one of their favorite benches on campus, enjoying the lack of wind or rain and trying to bask in the rare presence of the sun.

“Is it our horoscope for the week?” Enjolras asks flatly from Combeferre’s other side. “You might as well spoil it for me now.”

“‘Don’t let inevitable bumps in the road kill your motivation. Focus on what you can control, and take things one step at a time. You can handle the challenge’,” Courfeyrac reads. “It’s like they knew how poorly I did on my test last week.”

“That’s unbelievable,” Enjolras says dryly from Combeferre’s other side, not looking up from his law textbook. Combeferre resists elbowing him in the ribs. “Let’s hope it doesn’t jinx me for the exam I’m taking later today.”

“Well, it does cheer me up,” Courfeyrac smiles softly. 

Combeferre feels joy blossom in his chest like a firework, the warmth lingering. He tries to keep his smile controlled. “That’s wonderful, Courf.”

“Yeah. Wonderful,” Courfeyrac says softly, giving Combeferre a lingering look. “Anyway, I’m gonna head off to the library, I told Grantaire I’d look over his art history paper for him.”

“Tell him I say hi,” Combeferre says, glancing at Enjolras. 

“Alright, will do,” Courfeyrac nods, picking up Combeferre’s hint. “Any message you’d like me to pass on to Grantaire for you, Enj?”

“It’s fine,” Enjolras mutters, tensing up just slightly. 

“Hey, maybe the bumps in the road that your horoscope mentioned include your attempts at flirting with him,” Courfeyrac suggests. 

“Yeah, Enjolras, don’t let it kill your motivation,” Combeferre nudges him. “You can always try again. Maybe with less shouting.” 

Enjolras presses his lips together firmly, staring straight ahead at his textbook. 

Courfeyrac gives Combeferre a worried look but Combeferre shakes his head and mouths “I got it”. Courfeyrac grins and makes a heart with his hands before turning around and walking away, leaving Combeferre grinning to himself on the bench. 

“You two are ridiculous,” Enjolras shakes his head. “This horoscope thing is ridiculous.”

“What? It’s harmless, and it makes him happy,” Combeferre shrugs. 

“Might as well make it something more obvious, like ‘the guy writing these has a huge crush on you and wants to take you out, his number is’-“

“Alright, I understand,” Combeferre interrupts. “I just. Want to keep making him happy.”

Enjolras mutters something along the lines of “You’d make him more happy if you got your act together” but Combeferre pretends not to hear it. He’s got an idea. 

**WEEK 9**

“‘The person you have feelings for likes you more than you think. Speak up or you might lose your chance’,” Joly reads out loud from Combeferre’s laptop, raising an eyebrow at Combeferre afterward. 

“Don’t give me that look, Enjolras just needs a little nudge in the right direction,” Combeferre defends himself. At first, he was mortified that Joly knew about the horoscopes. But now, he’s glad that Grantaire told him. With all the studying they do together for their chemistry course, it’s good for him to talk about it during breaks to get it off his mind for a moment. 

“Enjolras? This is for him? Enjolras reads your horoscopes?” Joly asks, chuckling slightly. 

“No, but Courfeyrac usually reads them out loud for him, they’re both Leos. He definitely will read this one to him. He’ll think it was written just for Enjolras, which it was,” Combeferre answers. 

“Maybe he won’t think it’s only for Enjolras,” Joly says quietly before adding, “Well, I guess it’s not technically meddling. I think it sounds good.”

“Great, thanks Joly,” Combeferre nods, sending the week of horoscopes to Jehan. 

“How did Courf like the one this last week about bumps in the road?” Joly asks, pulling one of his notebooks out of his bag and adding it to the pile of books on the library table. 

“He liked it a lot, it cheered him up,” Combeferre says, smiling softly at nothing in particular in the distance. 

“Your boy is quite the optimist,” Joly laughs. “I’m surprised he hasn’t gotten suspicious of all the positive and specific horoscopes he’s getting whenever things go slightly wrong.”

* * *

That Friday, Courfeyrac has a bounce in his step. 

“Someone looks like they’re having a good day,” Combeferre points out with a smile as they walk toward their statistics class they have together. “What’s got you so happy?” 

Courfeyrac shrugs. “I just had a realization recently. And I’ve made up my mind about something I’ve thought about for a while now.”

“Is that so?” Combeferre asks, curious. His mouth goes dry as he realizes that Courfeyrac is again wearing the scarf Combeferre gave him.

Courfeyrac nods, biting his lips. “Yeah, I, uh. There’s this person I like. And he’s amazing. I’ve had a crush on him for a while, and I wasn’t exactly sure what to do about it. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks. But after some thought on how happy he makes me and how wonderful he is, I’ve decided to just go for it.”

Combeferre feels like Courfeyrac just punched him in the gut. He had just started to allow himself to imagine the possibility that there was a chance that maybe Courfeyrac feels the same way. But now...it feels a little difficult to breathe and when he feels Courfeyrac’s eyes on him, he realizes he hasn’t said anything. “That’s...that’s great,” he says, trying hard to make his voice not sound too strangled. It doesn’t work very well.

Courfeyrac gives him a look. “I was thinking of doing something cute for him, like taking him to the planetarium tonight. Or getting one of those frozen heart-shaped pizzas and watching The Good Place on my couch. Or maybe both of those ideas.”

Combeferre nods like this information isn’t crushing his insides into a thousand pieces. The planetarium is their thing. Frozen pizza is their thing. The Good Place is _their_ thing. “That...wow, that sounds like the perfect night. I bet he’ll love it.”

Courfeyrac nudges him. “Are you going to ask who he is?”

“I don’t think I want to know,” Combeferre says honestly, and now it’s Courfeyrac’s turn to look like Combeferre just stabbed him. 

“Listen, Ferre.” Courfeyrac stops walking to face Combeferre. It’s hard for Combeferre to keep eye contact, but he manages. “Before anything else, you’re my best friend, but-“

“Courfeyrac! Combeferre!” 

They both turn to see Marius jogging toward them, his statistics textbook in his hands. “Hey guys! Did you finish...” he trails off as he makes eye contact with Courfeyrac, and he slows his walking. “Oh. Sorry. Am I interrupting something?”

“No! Not at all,” Courfeyrac insists, a little too quickly. Combeferre is quiet, feeling grateful for the interruption. Marius looks uncertain but Courfeyrac puts his arm around his shoulders and the three of them continue walking to class together. Combeferre notices how Courfeyrac steers Marius between the two of them. It’s probably nothing. 

But it’s probably something when they get to class and Courfeyrac, who always sits in the middle of him and Marius, has Marius sit in the middle so he’s further away from Combeferre. He knows he needs to focus on this class, they have an exam coming up soon, but as he takes his notebook out his mind is racing with the question of what he did wrong and why Courfeyrac is acting strange and who is this mystery man that Courfeyrac has feelings for-

The person he has feelings for. Combeferre feels like time stops for a moment. The horoscope. The newsletter comes out this afternoon and Courfeyrac is going to see the horoscope and feel inspired by it and then Combeferre is definitely going to have to watch Courfeyrac ask out this awesome dude to a spectacular date and it will all be because this dumb horoscope thing that was meant for Enjolras. 

Marius nudges Combeferre. “You okay?”

Combeferre realizes the lecture has started and he hasn’t even opened his notebook. He mutters back a thank you to Marius and begins to scribble, his mind only half focused on the professor. 

* * *

Usually as Courfeyrac and Combeferre go to meet Enjolras after class, Marius heads to the library to meet Cosette, but today Courfeyrac tries getting Marius to come with them. 

“I’m sorry guys, I really need to make sure I’m on track with this unit of my Korean class, and Cosette promised me she’d help me practice the pronunciation of all the new words,” Marius says, looking like he just told Courfeyrac that he ran over his puppy. As he walks away, Combeferre notices that Courfeyrac looks significantly less cheerful than he did this morning. 

“You okay?” Combeferre frowns. 

“I’ll be fine,” Courfeyrac forces a smile, leading the way through the crowd of students around them. 

They have to walk single file as they press through the crowd, and they don’t speak again until they spot Enjolras sitting on a low wall near the chemistry building. 

“Hey Enjolras!” Courfeyrac calls out. 

Enjolras looks up from where he is typing on his laptop to wave at them, his hand stopping in mid air as he sees them approach. “Everything okay?” he asks the two of them slowly. Combeferre sits on his left and notices how Courfeyrac sits on Enjolras’s right instead of next to him. He tries to ignore it. 

“Yeah, all good, just a regular Friday,” Courfeyrac laughs forcefully. He turns to grab something out of his bag and Enjolras takes the opportunity to glance at Combeferre with a raised eyebrow. Combeferre shakes his head, hoping Courfeyrac has somewhere to go soon so he can explain it all before he loses his sanity. 

Courfeyrac pulls out his laptop and Combeferre starts to look over his notes from their last class, trying to make some sense of what he wrote. 

“Hey, the newsletter is out,” Courfeyrac says suddenly, and this is it, this is the moment he’ll go to his dream man and leave Combeferre heartbroken on a wall next to Enjolras.

“What’s our horoscope for the week?” Enjolras asks flatly. Courfeyrac is silent for a few moments as he stares at his screen and Enjolras looks up. “Courf?”

“It says...” Courfeyrac licks his lips. “It says ‘the person you have feelings for likes you more than you think. Speak up or you might lose your chance’.”

The three of them are quiet. Enjolras sighs and closes his laptop. 

“You’re impossible,” he tells Combeferre, collecting his things and standing up. 

“Where are you going?” Courfeyrac asks, surprised. 

“To find Grantaire. Before I lose my chance,” he answers. He takes a few steps and then stops, turning to look at both of them. “Maybe you two should listen to that horoscope, too.”

If Combeferre wasn’t so distracted, maybe he would’ve been surprised at how well that worked. All he can think of, however, is the now-empty space between him and Courfeyrac. 

“Good advice,” Courfeyrac breaks the silence, glancing at the horoscope again. 

“You should listen to it. Go talk to your dream guy that you care about so much,” Combeferre says, staring at the trees in front of them. 

“I’m already talking with him,” Courfeyrac says quietly. 

“What?” Combeferre asks, convinced he heard that wrong. 

“Look, it seems like you already figured it out by now,” Courfeyrac puts his laptop aside and moves over, closing the distance a bit. “And if you don’t feel the same way, that’s okay. You don’t owe me anything. Like I said, you’re my best friend, and that matters to me more than anything else. But...I’m also in love with you. I just want you to know. This is me, speaking up, and I don’t care if I lost my chance. As long as I don’t lose you.”

Combeferre stares. He opens his mouth. He closes it again. “You...wait. The guy you were talking about, the one you have feelings for...?”

Courfeyrac fails to hold back a smile. “How is my best friend so smart and yet so oblivious at the same time? Yes, it’s you, dork.”

Combeferre’s head is spinning, and then everything falls into place. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Courfeyrac says, now looking a little uncomfortable. “So there it is. You don’t have to say anything right now, if you don’t want to, I just-“

“Can I kiss you?”

Courfeyrac shuts his mouth immediately, nodding enthusiastically, and Combeferre leans over to close the rest of the distance between them. 

After several seconds, he pulls away. Courfeyrac looks shocked. “Oh.”

“Sorry, was that too forward of me?” Combeferre asks, now a little embarrassed. “That means I have feelings for you too.”

Courfeyrac grins, pulling Combeferre in again by his shirt. “I like forward.”

They’re still there several minutes later when they hear someone loudly clearing their throat. They pull back, surprised, to see Enjolras and Grantaire standing in front of them. 

“Glad you two finally figured things out,” Grantaire laughs. 

Courfeyrac giggles and hides his face in Combeferre’s shirt. “We were having a moment, thank you very much.”

“We’ll let you get back to it, then,” Enjolras says, winking at them and walking away. 

“Courf, look,” Combeferre gasps. 

Courfeyrac lifts his head to see that Enjolras and Grantaire are holding hands. He gasps loudly and whistles at the two of them. Grantaire throws a smirk over his shoulder and Combeferre is convinced he can see Enjolras blushing from where he’s sitting.

**WEEK 10**

The following Sunday, Combeferre and Jehan are enjoying their tea in the quiet coffee shop when Combeferre pulls out his phone to show Jehan a picture. He had just finished explaining how he and Courfeyrac had finally gotten their acts together, much to Jehan’s delight.

“That is adorable,” Jehan says, admiring the photo of Courfeyrac kissing Combeferre on the cheek, both of them looking ridiculously happy. “Quite the tale you two will get to tell future generations when they ask how you got together. You actually live in a Hallmark movie.”

Combeferre laughs. “You could say that.”

“But that’s not the end of the story,” Jehan says matter-of-factly, handing Combeferre back his phone.

Combeferre raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean? Oh, well yeah, I’m going to keep writing horoscopes for you.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Jehan shakes their head. “You left out the part where you told Courfeyrac how it was you all along.”

“Ah,” Combeferre says, sitting back in his chair. “I see. That...that part hasn’t quite happened yet.”

“You are going to tell him though, right?” Jehan raises their eyebrows. 

“Of course, I just don’t know how to bring it up. Or when,” Combeferre says, and it’s true. He’s waiting for Courfeyrac to mention Mysterious Horoscope Man again. 

“You will,” Jehan says with a smile. 

* * *

Combeferre feels Courfeyrac’s eyes on him and he looks up from his anatomy textbook after a few moments. Courfeyrac has a smile on his face. 

“What?” Combeferre asks. “Do I have Enjolras’s Crease of Concentration on my forehead again?”

Courfeyrac clicks his tongue in disappointment as Combeferre relaxes his expression and the crease goes away. “I love that Crease of Concentration.”

Combeferre nudges his boyfriend’s leg with his foot. A rush of happiness shoots through him as it does every time he remembers he gets to call Courfeyrac his boyfriend. “It’ll be back soon, don’t worry.” 

Courfeyrac leans back in the library chair, stretching. They’ve found a new spot to claim in the library, one with two chairs at a small table against the wall. Sometimes they sit across from each other, sneaking glances or holding hands as they read, other times they sit next to each other, their knees touching. Today is one of those days. “What do you want to do tomorrow night? It’s our one week anniversary, that doesn’t happen every day.” 

Combeferre grabs Courfeyrac’s hand and laces their fingers together. He can’t believe it has been only a week, it’s been the best week of his life. “Whatever you want, love.”

Courfeyrac’s eyes light up at the pet name. “Well, I don’t know if I’ll be available, actually. I was going to take this super hot guy to the planetarium, or maybe get a heart shaped frozen pizza and watch The Good Place with him and then make out with him on his couch.”

Combeferre rolls his eyes. “You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“I just can’t believe you would think I would _dare_ to consider taking anyone other than you to the planetarium,” Courfeyrac shakes his head, giving Combeferre’s hand a squeeze. “I don’t think it’s legal to go there without you. They probably wouldn’t let me in!”

“That reminds me,” Combeferre says. “Valentine’s day, did you want me to ask you to go with me to the special show they were doing?”

“Of course I did! That event had our names written all over it,” Courfeyrac laughs. “I decided to not wait around for you to ask me, that I would ask you out, instead. But when I tried, the tickets were sold out. That was the same night you didn’t have your phone and I went to eat all you can eat french fries at the Musain all by myself. I had to drown my failure in ketchup.”

Combeferre pauses. “That...that was the same night I went to get tickets. Enjolras and Jehan told me to go for it and I ran through the rain to get there before they closed. I left my phone behind in my hurry to leave. Cosette told me they were sold out and the whole thing was such a disaster that I lost the nerve to ask you out that week.”

They stare at each other before muffling their laughter with their hands.

“We were so, so dumb,” Courfeyrac whispers, wiping a tear from his eye.

“I was thinking the same thing. It’s a miracle we eventually got it all sorted out,” Combeferre smiles. 

“Took us long enough. To think we could’ve been making out all this time,” Courfeyrac sighs. 

Combeferre gives up on his textbook reading and closes it with his free hand, leaning forward. “When did you know? That you...had feelings for me?”

“When we had one of our first movie nights of fall semester. After the movie, Jehan said they wanted to play Just Dance and they insisted that you play with them. You kept refusing but Jehan gave you their puppy eyes and said ‘Ferre, you would make me the happiest person in the world if you danced to a Katy Perry song with me’, and at that you jumped up because you do anything and everything to make your friends happy,” Courfeyrac smiles softly. “That made me so happy. And then I watched you dance, and you were better than I expected, and your hair would get in your face and you were sweating and smiling and laughing and I just...I knew. I had the urge to push your hair back and run my fingers through it and kiss you senseless. I figured that wasn’t very platonic of me. When did you know?”

Combeferre grins. “A couple of weeks later, when I was studying and you brought me that double chocolate chip muffin from the vending machine. As you were walking away you said ‘love you’ and even though you were already out of earshot, I tried to say it back and the words choked in my throat because I couldn’t say it the same way I had before. I had realized that I really, truly loved you.”

Courfeyrac leans forward and gives him a quick kiss on the lips. “That’s adorable. I’m glad we got our act together. I need to thank whoever writes those horoscopes for giving me the courage to finally do something about it,” Courfeyrac adds. 

Combeferre cracks a smile. He had almost forgotten about the horoscopes, but now that Courfeyrac mentions them, he remembers his conversation with Jehan. “Right, the horoscopes. So, uh, you know how you wanted to meet the person behind them?”

Courfeyrac looks up, confusion turning to excitement as he waits for Combeferre to finish his sentence. “Do you know them?”

“Well, actually, I do. Because I...I wrote them. It was me,” Combeferre tells him sheepishly. 

Combeferre covers his boyfriend’s mouth in time to stop his victory cry from echoing throughout the entire library. His eyes crinkle and Combeferre feels something wet on his hand. 

“Disgusting,” he shakes his head, but he’s smiling as he wipes his hand on Courfeyrac’s skinny jeans. 

“You wrote those?” Courfeyrac is beaming. 

Combeferre nods. “I noticed you liked them, and I figured it was a good way to cheer you up whenever you needed a little positivity.” 

“I knew it,” Courfeyrac says in a stage whisper. “Well, not really, I was a little suspicious but I didn’t actually think I was right. Ferre, that is sooo romantic. I’m going to print out all of the horoscopes and make a scrapbook.”

“You don’t think it’s weird or anything?” Combeferre asks hesitantly. 

“On the contrary, I am going to pay you back by fulfilling your dream of making out with me against some bookshelves in the library until we get kicked out.”

Combeferre’s eyebrows shoot up. “How did you know-“

“I didn’t, I just guessed, but thanks for confirming my suspicions,” Courfeyrac grins, grabbing his hand and leading them to a row of books with a little more privacy. 

The next day, Courfeyrac opens the newsletter in excitement, going straight to the first horoscope since they got together. 

“‘You make all who know you happier, and they are all grateful you are in their life. Keep sharing your light with the world’,” he reads out loud to Combeferre before looking up. “Adorable. I think you made a typo, though. This should be under the Libras section, because I’m pretty sure it applies perfectly to you.”

Combeferre smiles as the light of his world stands on his tiptoes to kiss his cheek. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I had so much fun writing this. Please leave kudos and/or comments as they make my day ten thousand times better.
> 
> I am [lesmiserablol](http://www.lesmiserablol.tumblr.com) on tumblr, always taking requests for fics and headcanons :)
> 
> Stay safe, healthy, and happy!


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